According to CCTV News today, on July 31 local time, China’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations held a briefing at the UN Headquarters on the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference and the High-Level Meeting on Global Governance of Artificial Intelligence.
Fu Cong, China’s permanent representative to the United Nations, said that China will uphold the principles of openness and open source, win-win cooperation, and joint consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits, and work with all parties on the UN’s broad platform to discuss and plan major issues concerning the future of global artificial intelligence governance.
Gilles, the UN Special Envoy on Digital and Emerging Technologies, said that the World Artificial Intelligence Conference is of milestone significance and expressed hope that the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization would closely coordinate and cooperate with the United Nations. Song Haitao, a member of the UN Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence, shared his experience of attending the event.
On July 16, 29 countries from Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe signed the Agreement on the Establishment of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, becoming founding member states. This marked important progress at a key stage in China’s initiative to promote the establishment of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization. According to reports, representatives from more than 70 countries and international organizations attended the briefing.
On July 26, 2025, the Chinese government proposed establishing the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization. This is an important initiative by China to uphold and practice multilateralism and promote global governance based on joint consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits. It is also a concrete action by China in response to the call from the Global South, helping bridge the digital and intelligent divides and promoting the beneficial and inclusive development of artificial intelligence. It is worth noting that the headquarters of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization is located in Shanghai, China.
The 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference was held in Shanghai from July 17 to July 20. This year’s conference featured an exhibition area of 100,000 square meters, a total of 4,486 exhibits, and 351 products making their global debuts. It hosted 177 important global procurement delegations and is expected to generate approximately 20.36 billion yuan in intended procurement, an increase of approximately 25% year over year.
Unlike in previous years, this year’s event added an academic segment, hosted a high-level international academic conference on artificial intelligence for the first time, and created a dedicated zone for youth innovation competitions. It provides one-stop connections across academia, industry, entrepreneurship, investment, and financing, enabling both industry experts and young developers to find channels for communication and collaboration.